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> Is It Possible to Breastfeed After Breast Augmentation?

Is It Possible to Breastfeed With Implants?

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Hoping to breastfeed baby after implants? Here are a few questions that will help you determine your likelihood of breastfeeding along with tips to boost your odds of success.

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If you’re one of the more than 300,000 American women who have breast augmentation every year, you might wonder whether or not you’ll be able to breastfeed. While some research has found that women with breast implants are more likely to have problems breastfeeding than those who haven’t had the surgery, the odds are in your favor — though you might face some additional challenges.

The most important factor determining breastfeeding success is how and why your surgery was done. Consider:

Where were the incisions made? If they go across your areolae or nipples, then it’s likely that your milk ducts and nerves were cut. In that case, breastfeeding might not work. But it’s much more likely that your incisions were made underneath your breasts or near your armpits. In that case, your surgeon probably opted to save major nerves, so you should be able to produce milk.

Do you still have feeling in your nipples? That’s a good sign that your nerves are working as they should — though if your surgery was recent (within the last year or two), full nipple sensation may have not yet returned (but you still may be able to breastfeed just fine).

Where are your implants? If they’re located under your chest muscle, it’s better for breastfeeding. Implants located right under the glandular tissue of your breasts (and on top of the chest muscle) sometimes can interfere with milk production.

Why did you need breast augmentation? If you simply had small breasts and wanted implants for cosmetic reasons, you’re a good candidate for breastfeeding. But some women get implants because their breast tissue never developed, or because their breasts are spaced far apart, are tubular in shape or are asymmetrical. If any of the above describe your pre-implant breasts, it’s possible you don’t have enough of the glandular tissue you’d need to make milk, and one study found that women with this condition are 25 percent more likely to be unable to breastfeed and 19 percent more likely to need to supplement. (But don’t give up yet!)

If you don’t know the answer to any of these questions, contact your breast surgeon for details.

Armed with this info, you should next set up a meeting with a certified lactation consultant, who can help you prepare to breastfeed successfully once your baby arrives. It’s important to breastfeed a lot in the first few weeks, so your body gets the “Make milk please!” message. Your consultant might advise you to use a breast pump in addition to feeding your baby from your breast, since pumps (especially the electric kind) can boost milk production. She can also suggest other ways to support and increase your milk production from the very beginning and manage any pain you might experience (since it’s normal to have scar tissue inside your breasts from your surgery that sometimes make breastfeeding uncomfortable). It is possible to successfully breastfeed even if you can't provide a full milk supply by supplementing in ways that are supportive of breastfeeding, such as using an at-breast supplementing device or bottles.

By the way: In the unlikely event that your breast implants contain silicone, there’s no risk to your baby if you breastfeed. In fact, cow’s milk and formula actually contain more of the element silicon than breast milk from moms with implants.

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